Adri and I sit down at the Library of Virginia to catch up and talk about writing, The Origin Project, her podcast (You Are What You Read), and ten years since the release of her hometown movie Big Stone Gap.

Beloved by millions of readers around the world for her “dazzling” novels, (USA Today) Adriana Trigiani is The New York Times bestselling author of twenty books in fiction and nonfiction (she just finished her 21st manuscript). She has been published in 38 countries around the world. The New York Times calls her “a comedy writer with a heart of gold,” her books “tiramisu for the soul.” She wrote the blockbuster The Shoemaker’s Wife, the Big Stone Gap series, the Valentine trilogy and Lucia, Lucia. Trigiani’s themes of love and work, emphasis upon craftsmanship and family life have brought her legions of fans around the world. Their devotion has made Adriana one of “the reigning queens of women’s fiction” (USA Today).

Adriana is host of the hit podcast, You Are What You Read, sponsored by Book of the Month. Adriana interviews the luminaries of our time about the books that built their souls. Episodes feature Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Hannah, David Baldacci, Whoopi Goldberg, Rainn Wilson, Amor Towles, Fannie Flagg, Katie Couric, Mitch Albom, Jhumpa Lahiri, Craig Ferguson and many more.

In 2013, Adriana co-founded The Origin Project with the late Nancy Bolmeier Fisher, who served as Executive Director of the program for over a decade. The Origin Project is an in-school writing program that brings professional authors into the classroom to work with students on their creative writing skills – specifically, stories inspired by their own family history. The project culminates with a published anthology of student work at the end of the school year. Since The Origin Project’s launch in 2013, the program has expanded to include many more schools, now serving over 1,700 students grades 2-12 in the Appalachian mountains of Virginia.

Ivy Attic Co
Jewelry from coal, river glass, and discarded books handcrafted in the central Appalachian Mountains

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Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Steam Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain